Collection: 1947-1972 (1998)

About this title: Just where Johnny Hartman's name ends up in the pantheon of great jazzy pop singers is still left open to debate. But his talents and mastery of a lyric come to the fore on this marvelous two-CD set of tunes cherry-picked from his long, if not particularly prolific, career, leaving no doubt about his prodigious talents. Hartman went through label affiliations like some folks go through underwear, and this 38-track overview samples his best for RCA Victor, Regent, Bethlehem, Mercury, Jubilee, ABC-Paramount, Roost, Impulse! and the Japanese branch of Capitol, beginning in 1947 and winding up in ... read more

Tracks:

1. I'll Never Smile Again [Lowe]
2. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart [Nemo/Mills/Ellingto]
3. Why Was I Born? [Hammerstein/Kern]
4. I Should Care [Cahn/Stordahl/Westo]
5. That Old Black Magic [Mercer/Arlen]
6. Close Your Eyes [Petkere]
7. S'Posin' [Denniker/Razaf]
8. Goodbye [Jenkins]
9. September in the Rain [Warren/Dubin]
10. Out of the Night [Benjamin/Weiss]
11. Worry Bird [Benjamin/Weiss/Sing]
12. Wheel of Fortune [Benjamin/Weiss]
13. Wild [Coben]
14. Black Shadows [Hughes/Howard]
15. I Feel Like Crying [Biggs/Thomas]
16. I See Your Face Before Me [Schwartz/Dietz]
17. The End of a Love Affair [Redding]
18. The World Was Mine [Barr/Schiff]
19. Bye, Bye, Bye [Tuminello]
20. I Thought About You [VanHeusen/Mercer]
21. Mam'selle [Goulding/Gordon]
22. My One and Only Love [Mellin/Wood]
23. Lush Life [Strayhorn]
24. In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning [Hilliard/Mann]
25. Don't You Know I Care (Or Don't You Care to Know) [David/Ellington]
26. Stairway to the Stars [Parish/Malneck/Sign]
27. My Ship [Gershwin/Weill]
28. The More I See You [Warren/Gordon]
29. Almost Like Being in Love [Lerner/Loewe]
30. The Very Thought of You [Noble]
31. Unforgettable [Gordon]
32. If I Had You [Campbell/Connelly]
33. As You Desire Me [Wrubel]
34. When I Get the Time [Creatore/Peretti/We]
35. I Cover the Waterfront [Heyman/Green]
36. Fly Me to the Moon [Howard]
37. On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever) [Lerner/Lane]
38. The Shadow of Your Smile [Love Theme from the Sandpiper] [Mandel/Webster]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.